Since August, student-athletes at the University of Oregon who need medical services have had the option of receiving treatment in a state-of-the-art, thoroughly renovated athletic medical center.

It is located in the 102,000-square-foot Casanova Center, home to the university's sports programs, which involve some 500 student-athletes.

Kim Terrell, an associate director of athletic medicine, said that before this year's renovation, the athletic medical center was overcrowded and staff lacked up-to-date equipment.

The university began discussing a renovation of the medical center with Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects LLP of Portland, a firm with experience designing hospitals and healing centers.

"They were interested in ... this idea of the healing environment as something conducive not only to treating the injured, but also to nurturing [the athletes], encouraging them to be fit," said ZGF design partner Gene Sandoval.

The timeline for the renovation was short. The university chose ZGF as the architect in September 2006; Portland-based Hoffman Construction Co., the design/build contractor, started construction Dec. 26 and finished by August.

Zimmer Gunsul's in-house team, made up of 10 specialists from different disciplines, made it possible to turn the project around quickly.

"We were able to do it all under one roof, which really helped because we were working at breakneck speed," said principal interior designer Randy Stegmeier.

Aside from available square footage, the architects and other project planners were given few limits for the renovation, which was funded in full by Nike Inc. founder Phil Knight and his wife, Penny.

The open-ended nature of the project challenged Terrell. At first, her goals were utilitarian: additional space and updated equipment to enhance what the athletic medical staff could do for the athletes.

"They had to push us to think in the future ... don't just think about how it was done," she said.

The center occupies nearly 15,000 square feet, compared to the original facility's 4,329. A glassed-in extension to the building houses treadmills and stationary bicycles.

A hydrotherapy area includes two 2,200-gallon plunge pools, one at 104 degrees and the other at 55 degrees, and three therapy pools with underwater treadmills. Locker rooms and administrative spaces are located across the hallway.

Terrell considers the treadmill pools to be an important addition: "The athletes can start being active early in their recoveries. It seems to be accelerating what they can do."

The clinical area of the medical center contains multiple examination rooms for a dentist, an ophthalmologist and other specialists. A machine capable of X-raying the whole body, not just limbs, enables doctors to immediately diagnose injuries.

Designing a facility for users with larger-than-average bodies proved particularly interesting for interior designer Stegmeier. He said that the football players, who weigh in the neighborhood of 250 to 300 pounds, "quickly became a benchmark for everything we did."

For example, the massage and taping areas are equipped with custom-made tables capable of supporting up to 1,200 pounds each.

The corridor dividing the center's clinical portion from the hydrotherapy area contains a lounge where athletes can socialize.

As part of the medical staff, Terrell was initially concerned about building a space to encourage socializing.

"It gets loud, and it gets busy," she said.

But in practice, she found that the lounge reduced conflict: "There is a space where they can [socialize] without interfering in our jobs."

At the east end of the corridor is a nutrition bar from which James Harris, director of sports nutrition, dispenses snacks, fluids and nutritional advice to the athletes.

"It's been a great resource," said Harris. "Athletes have very limited time between practice, class and studying, so it makes it convenient for them to stop by."

Harris, whose previous office was located next to a kitchen, also likes working in closer proximity to the rest of the athletic medical staff.

"We're doing various jobs, but our focus is the same: trying to make the athletes better," he said.

"With the new facility, it shows me where my piece of the puzzle fits into the long list of things that an athlete needs to be better."

The new athletic medical center was intended to make an impression. In addition to improving athletes' healing and overall health, one of the goals of the project was to support recruitment.

"We took a lot of creative ideas and executed those in capturing the athletic legacy and reaching out to potential recruits," said Zimmer Gunsul Frasca's Sara Schmidt, art director for the project.

For instance, the glass screens in the lounge are sandblasted with silhouettes of athletes, composed of the names of hundreds of University of Oregon athletes.

It is early to say if the upgraded athletic medical center has reduced injury rates or aided in recruitment. However, Terrell said that the renovation has boosted the morale of athletes and staff alike.

"It's so comprehensive and state-of-the-art that it really sends a message that we care about the people we're taking care of," she said.

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